Edgars Rinkēvičs, President of Latvia, has urged the EU and NATO member states to boost the defence industry’s capacity to produce the necessary armament for military needs. Meeting with the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, at Riga Castle on October 20th, the two discussed investment attraction, joint procurement facilitation, and progress in the EU agreement aimed at accelerating joint procurement and supply of artillery projectiles to Ukraine. Rinkēvičs emphasised the importance of strengthening defence industries, reducing strategic dependencies, and fighting against disinformation. He thanked the European Commission for its support in Ukraine and urged Latvian companies to participate more in the European Defence Fund. Both sides agreed on the role of social networking platforms in information dissemination.
The 27 EU states have already agreed to provide urgent ammunition and missiles to Ukraine and help replenish their military stocks, which have been depleted during the Russian-Ukrainian war. The EU supports member states in artillery projectiles and missile supply, demand aggregation, joint procurement of 155mm projectiles, and increasing the production capacities of the European defence industry. The plan includes providing additional ammunition worth €1bn from member states, intensifying procurement of new ammunition for Ukraine, and strengthening and accelerating European defence-industrial production to prepare for a potentially long war.
CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE NEWS
Latvia Calls for Armament of Europe
Follow us
